FIFA 16 | Best cheap high potential central midfielders

In these articles I look at the best cheap, high potential players in FIFA 16, with tonight’s post focusing on central midfielders. I’ll go through a few recommendations, then show you the full list of top quality players afterwards. For a full run down of how I choose the players and what the different columns in the table mean, click on “What are these articles all about?” below.

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The articles in this series should give you some ideas if you’re looking for a new signing in a key area. There is one article for each position on the pitch to make it easy for you to quickly find players to bolster your squad.

All of the players given here have a minimum potential of 80, so you know you’re getting quality. The maximum OVR for each player is 75, both to keep transfer prices down and to avoid presenting you with too many options and thus making it too difficult to choose the player you need.

The ‘Avai?’ column is short for ‘available?’ and refers both to whether or not you can buy the specified player at the start of the first season and how long their current contract is. Let’s take Y/2 as an example – Y means that yes, you can buy him at the start of a new career, and the number means he has two years left on his contract. Similarly, N/3 would mean that no, you can’t buy the player straight away, and he has three years left on his contract. These ‘no’ players are often available for transfer if you wait until the January transfer window, however. For some players this column is blank – this means that they are out on loan at the start and are therefore unavailable for purchase until the second season.

The figure in the player cost column refers to the price you are given if you scout the player. There’s also another column – ‘Enquiry’. This refers to the price the other team want for the player if you enquire about him. Often there is a large difference between the player cost obtained through scouting and that obtained through an enquiry. This leaves a lot of room for negotiation, so don’t be put off if a price in the ‘Enquiry’ column is high, as you can usually get the player for much less. Try bidding lower than what you think will be accepted – you may be surprised at their response. If the ‘Enquiry’ column is blank it’s because the team refused to give a price, either because the player has just joined them or because they are loaning him in.

And as a final note, in FIFA 16 EA update player OVRs and potentials every week. Mose of the time these are very minor changes, and most players won’t be affected at all unless they have had a very noteworthy week. Furthermore, some players occasionally disappear if they have been put in the reserve squad that week. So just bear in mind that these figures should be read as a guide only and not a definitive account of player costs, potentials, etc, for the entire season.[/expand]

So without further ado, let’s see the cheap young central midfielders that I recommend.

Leon Goretzka: potential 85

Leon Goretzka is one of the most well-rounded midfielders in the game

Simply put, Leon Goretzka is one of the most well-rounded midfielders in FIFA 16. He can play in pretty much any position on the pitch, in fact – he’s rated 75 both at right back and at centre forward, for example. With his 84 sprint speed, 78 dribbling powerful shot and accurate heading he’s going to be a real goal threat, while his strong passing and crossing will mean he can create chances for teammates. Even his tackling is good, so he can drop deeper to play a holding role (or even in defence) if you need him to.

FC Schalke 04 are understandably reluctant to let him go and quote a price of £7m if you enquire, but you can probably get that down to around £6m; his wages are £25,000. For the flexibility he brings, he’s absolutely worth the outlay.

James Ward-Prowse: potential 83

James Ward-Prowse will be the creative heart of your midfield

James Ward-Prowse may be rated 75 but he has some insane stats for an OVR like that: 88 crossing and 86 curve, for example, mean he already has the Crosser speciality and will cause havoc from wide positions. His 82 vision, 81 short passing and 80 long passing also make him a fantastic playmaker – put him just behind the strikers or in a holding midfield role, wherever he goes he’ll be supplying his teammates with unerring accuracy. And with 83 potential, he’s just going to get better and better.

Renato Sanches: potential 86

Renato Sanches is an amazing young player and is full of potential

Renato Sanches may only be 17 but he is good enough to slot right into a whole host of teams. He’s got very decent pace but is also fairly strong, useful for the central midfield battles that he’ll no doubt be involved in. He has a very powerful shot, while his dribbling is one of his best stats, so get him in the box and unleash a shot and he’s got a good chance of scoring. He’s also a good passer thanks to his 71 short passing and 70 vision, so will be distributing the ball with a maturity that belies his young age.

For a player with 86 potential, he is remarkably cheap. Send off an enquiry to SL Benfica and you’ll get back a price of just £2.4m, which can be knocked down to around £1.7m. His wages are also cheap at £4,000.

Daniel Amartey: potential 83

Daniel Amartey is an absolute beast and can play in midfield or defence

Daniel Amartey is my final choice, and you should go for him if you want a real midfield beast. His 79 sprint speed and 88 strength combined make him a brick wall and almost impossible for the opposition to get past. He’s a scrapper, and with 92 stamina, great interceptions and strong tackling he’ll be able to win the ball back wherever the opposition players are. But he’s also an impressive passer and absolutely lethal in the air (87 jumping and 74 heading), so will be creating and scoring plenty of goals.

Now here are the other cheap, high potential central midfielders in FIFA 16:

Pos

Name

OVR

Pot.

Age

Cost (£)

Enquiry (£)

Wages (£)

Club

Avai?

Foot

Weak foot

Skills

Traits

Notes

CM

Renato Sanches

69

86

17

1,400,000

2,400,000

4,000

SL Benfica

Y/6

Right

4

2

Long shot taker

CM

Dele Alli

70

86

19

1,900,000

-

15,000

Spurs

N/5

Right

3

3

Flair, long shot taker

CM

Godfred Donsah

69

85

19

1,500,000

*

5,000

Bologna

-

Right

2

2

On loan from Cagliari

CM

Leon Goretzka

75

85

20

4,700,000

7,000,000

25,000

FC Schalke 04

Y/3

Right

4

4

Flair

CM

Viktor Kovalenko

70

84

19

1,900,000

3,000,000

10,000

Shakhtar Donetsk

Y/4

Right

4

3

CM

Bruno Zuculini

74

84

22

3,900,000

*

20,000

Middlesbrough

-

Right

3

2

On loan from Manchester City

CM

Sebastián Gamarra

67

83

18

1,000,000

Right

3

3

Free agent

CM

Daniel Amartey

70

83

20

1,800,000

3,500,000

10,000

FC København

Y/4

Right

4

2

Long shot taker

CM

Lucas Romero

72

83

21

2,600,000

4,800,000

15,000

Vélez Sarsfield

Y/5

Right

2

2

Long shot taker

CM

Danilo Cataldi

73

83

20

3,300,000

4,100,000

25,000

Lazio

Y/2

Right

3

3

CM

Okay Yokuşlu

74

83

21

3,700,000

-

20,000

Trabzonspor

N/3

Right

4

2

Flair

CM

Nabil Bentaleb

75

83

20

4,300,000

5,000,000

25,000

Spurs

Y/5

Left

3

2

CM

James Ward-Prowse

75

83

20

4,300,000

8,000,000

20,000

Southampton

Y/5

Right

3

3

Crosser, early crosser, long passer

CM

Víctor Camarasa

75

83

21

4,300,000

8,000,000

20,000

Levante UD

Y/4

Right

3

3

CM

Bruno Fernandes

75

83

20

4,300,000

8,500,000

20,000

Udinese

Y/3

Right

3

3

CM

Pajtim Kasami

75

83

23

4,300,000

8,500,000

25,000

Olympiakos CFP

Y/3

Left

4

2

Long shot taker

CM

Sérgio Oliveira

75

83

23

4,300,000

-

35,000

FC Porto

N/5

Right

3

4

CM

Marco van Ginkel

75

83

22

4,300,000

*

20,000

Stoke City

-

Right

4

3

On loan from Chelsea

CM

Joseph Minala

67

82

18

1,000,000

*

1,500

Latina

-

Right

3

3

On loan from Lazio

CM

Assane Gnoukouri

69

82

18

1,200,000

1,600,000

4,000

Inter

Y/2

Right

3

2

CM

Francisco Ramos

68

82

20

1,400,000

2,000,000

7,000

FC Porto

Y/4

Right

3

2

CM

Raphael Guzzo

69

82

20

1,400,000

2,500,000

1,500

Tondela

Y/6

Right

3

2

CM

Adama Traoré

68

82

20

1,400,000

-

7,000

AS Monaco

N/5

Left

3

2

CM

Vincent Koziello

71

82

19

1,800,000

3,000,000

10,000

OGC Nice

Y/3

Right

3

3

CM

Joshua Kimmich

71

82

20

2,000,000

-

20,000

FC Bayern

N/5

Right

3

3

CM

José Mauri

72

82

19

2,200,000

-

15,000

Milan

N/4

Right

4

2

CM

Bryan Cristante

72

82

20

2,400,000

4,700,000

15,000

SL Benfica

Y/4

Right

3

2

Long passer

CM

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg

73

82

19

2,800,000

*

25,000

FC Schalke 04

-

Right

4

3

On loan from FC Bayern

CM

Yannick Gerhardt

73

82

21

3,200,000

6,000,000

20,000

1. FC Köln

Y/3

Left

3

3

CM

Ben Swanson

62

81

17

400,000

725,000

1,000

Columbus Crew SC

Y/4

Right

4

2

CM

Gianluca Gaudino

68

81

18

1,000,000

1,400,000

6,000

FC Bayern

Y/3

Right

3

3

CM

Renato Tapia

71

81

19

1,700,000

2,500,000

10,000

FC Twente

Y/2

Right

4

2

CM

Leander Dendoncker

71

81

20

1,900,000

2,400,000

10,000

RSC Anderlecht

Y/5

Right

4

2

Long shot taker

CM

Simon Tibbling

72

81

20

2,300,000

4,300,000

10,000

FC Groningen

Y/4

Right

3

3

CM

Erick Gutiérrez

72

81

20

2,300,000

4,300,000

10,000

Pachuca

Y/6

Left

3

2

CM

Jefferson Lerma

72

81

20

2,300,000

*

10,000

Levante UD

-

Right

3

2

On loan from Atlético Huila

CM

Ebenezer Ofori

73

81

19

3,000,000

5,000,000

20,000

AIK

Y/2

Left

2

2

Acrobat

CM

Will Hughes

73

81

20

3,000,000

5,500,000

20,000

Derby County

Y/3

Left

3

3

CM

Adrien Thomasson

73

81

21

3,000,000

-

20,000

FC Nantes

N/3

Right

3

2

CM

Salih Uçan

73

81

21

3,000,000

*

30,000

Roma

-

Right

5

4

On loan from Fenerbahçe

CM

Marco Benassi

74

81

21

3,400,000

5,500,000

20,000

Torino

Y/3

Right

3

3

CM

Pedro Obiang

74

81

23

3,400,000

-

25,000

West Ham

N/4

Right

3

2

CM

Ogenyi Onazi

75

81

22

4,000,000

7,000,000

30,000

Lazio

Y/3

Right

3

3

Long shot taker

CM

Marcelo Brozović

75

81

22

4,000,000

7,000,000

30,000

Inter

Y/4

Right

4

2

Long passer, long shot taker

CM

Jean Michaël Seri

75

81

23

4,000,000

-

25,000

OGC Nice

N/5

Right

3

2

Long shot taker

CM

Ryan Ledson

61

80

17

300,000

450,000

2,250

Everton

Y/2

Right

2

2

CM

Pepelu

62

80

16

375,000

650,000

2,000

Levante UD

Y/6

Right

3

3

Long passer

CM

Lucas Tousart

62

80

18

400,000

-

2,000

Olym. Lyonnais

N/5

Right

2

2

CM

Alexis Blin

65

80

18

725,000

1,000,000

2,000

Toulouse FC

Y/3

Right

3

2

CM

Teddy Bishop

67

80

18

850,000

1,600,000

2,000

Ipswich

Y/3

Right

4

3

CM

Gustavo Hebling

67

80

19

900,000

*

5,000

PEC Zwolle

-

Right

3

3

On loan from PSG

CM

Nathaniel Chalobah

67

80

20

1,000,000

1,000,000

7,000

Napoli

Y/3

Right

3

2

CM

João Teixeira

70

80

21

1,500,000

1,700,000

15,000

SL Benfica

Y/6

Right

3

2

CM

César Fuentes

70

80

22

1,500,000

-

15,000

Uni. Católica

N/4

Right

3

2

CM

Gastón Gil Romero

72

80

22

2,200,000

3,800,000

15,000

Estudiantes

Y/2

Right

3

2

CM

Wallyson Mallmann

72

80

21

2,200,000

*

15,000

OGC Nice

-

Left

3

3

On loan from Sporting CP

CM

Kyle Ebecilio

72

80

21

2,200,000

*

15,000

Nottingham Forest

-

Right

3

3

On loan from FC Twente

CM

Tonny Vilhena

73

80

20

2,900,000

3,100,000

20,000

Feyenoord

Y/1

Left

4

3

Flair

CM

Yassin Ayoub

73

80

21

2,900,000

4,500,000

20,000

FC Utrecht

Y/1

Left

3

3

CM

Filipe Augusto

73

80

21

2,900,000

*

20,000

SC Braga

-

Left

2

3

On loan from Rio Ave

CM

Lorenzo Crisetig

73

80

22

2,900,000

*

20,000

Bologna

-

Left

3

3

On loan from Inter

CM

Saleh Gomaa

73

80

21

2,900,000

Right

4

3

Free agent

CM

César Meli

74

80

23

3,300,000

5,500,000

25,000

Boca Juniors

Y/5

Right

3

3

CM

Afriyie Acquah

74

80

23

3,300,000

-

25,000

Torino

N/4

Right

4

2

CM

Ryan Mason

75

80

24

3,900,000

6,500,000

35,000

Spurs

Y/5

Right

3

3

CM

José Rodríguez

75

80

20

3,900,000

-

20,000

Galatasaray

N/4

Right

3

2

Long passer, long shot taker, power header

Thanks for reading! If you have any player recommendations of your own and have some ideas for the website, make sure you let me know in the comments below.

Hey I’ve been using Benassi a lot and I turned him into a goalscoring midfielder. I’m halfway through the season and he’s got 7 goals and 5 assists for my Derby side after selling a couple of players. He’s amazing!

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